And now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I’ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it’s never clarified) homework.
9月24日星期六
今天，开完家长会，妈妈闷闷不乐，我小心地问：“妈妈，您怎么了？”妈妈看着我，叹了口气说：“你暑假作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。
看着妈妈自责的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这根本就不是你的错，而是我自己不努力，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈盯着我的眼睛，攥着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们共同努力！”
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 日 | rì | (bound form) sun; day; day of the month; (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3]); (vulgar) to fuck; to have sex with |
| 星期六 | Xīng qī lìu | Saturday |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 家长会 | jiā zhǎng huì | parent-teacher conference; parents' association |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 闷 | mēn | stuffy; shut indoors; to smother; to cover tightly |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 乐 | Lè | surname Le |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 小心 | xiǎo xīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3]) |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 叹 | tǎn | to sigh |
| 口气 | kǒu qì | tone of voice; the way one speaks; manner of expression; tone |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 暑 | shǔ | heat; hot weather; summer heat |
| 假 | gēi | used in 假掰[gei1 bai1]; to borrow (variant of 假[jia3]) |
| 作 | zuō | (bound form) worker; (bound form) workshop; (slang) troublesome; high-maintenance (person) |
| 业 | Yè | surname Ye |
| 完成 | wán chéng | to complete; to accomplish |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 不好 | bù hǎo | no good |
| 字 | zì | letter; symbol; character; word; CL:個|个[ge4]; courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 写 | xiě | to write |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 有了 | yǒu le | I've got a solution!; to have a bun in the oven (abbr. for 有了胎[you3 le5 tai1]) |
| 小妹妹 | xiǎo mèi mei | little sister; little girl; (coll.) vulva |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 段 | Duàn | surname Duan |
| 时间 | shí jiān | (concept of) time; (duration of) time; (point in) time |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 少 | shǎo | few; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop (doing sth); seldom |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 意思 | yì si | idea; opinion; meaning; wish; desire; interest; fun; token of appreciation, affection etc; CL:個|个[ge4]; to give as a small token; to do sth as a gesture of goodwill etc |
| 低下 | dī xià | low status; lowly; to lower (one's head) |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 自责 | zì zé | to blame oneself |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 特别 | tè bié | unusual; special; very; especially; particularly; expressly; for a specific purpose; (often followed by 是[shi4]) in particular |
| 难过 | nán guò | to feel sad; to feel unwell; (of life) to be difficult |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 本就 | běn jìu | by nature; fundamentally; inherently |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 错 | Cuò | surname Cuo |
| 而是 | ér shì | rather |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 努力 | nǔ lì | to make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request |
| 生气 | shēng qì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ... |
| 认真 | rèn zhēn | conscientious; earnest; serious; to take seriously; to take to heart |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 师 | Shī | surname Shi |
| 交 | jiāo | to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 每 | měi | each; every |
| 项 | Xiàng | surname Xiang |
| 争取 | zhēng qǔ | to fight for; to strive for; to win over |
| 取得 | qǔ dé | to acquire; to get; to obtain |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 绩 | jì | to spin (hemp etc); merit; accomplishment; Taiwan pr. [ji1] |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 盯 | dīng | to watch attentively; to fix one's attention on; to stare at; to gaze at |
| 眼睛 | yǎn jing | eye; CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1] |
| 攥 | ||
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 共同 | gòng tóng | common; joint; jointly; together; collaborative |
September 24, Saturday
Today, after my parent-teacher conference, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, “Mama, what’s wrong?” Looking at me, mother sighed and said: “Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I’ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven’t been paying as much attention to you during this time.” As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment.
When I saw the self-blame on mama’s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: “Mama, don’t blame yourself, is isn’t your fault at all, it’s that I haven’t worked hard enough, so please don’t be angry, starting now, I’ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I’ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!” Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, “Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.”